"Creative Animal" tiny house tour lands in Athens

Many of us dream of taking to the open road. Some actually do it — like Stephanie Arne and Tim Davison, who stopped off in Athens Monday during their national tour in a tiny house.

Arne, the former host of Mutual of Omaha’s revived "Wild Kingdom" nature show, and Davison, the man she competed with for the job four and a half years ago, are promoting their new Creative Animal Foundation, Arne explained as she took questions from a steady stream of visitors Monday afternoon at their 192-square-foot house, parked for the day at Athens Technical College.

The foundation is dedicated to education and science about conservation, environmental sustainability, wildlife preservation and the protection of earth’s oceans and waterways.

The little house’s charm almost always draws people inside, where Davison and Arne are liable to do what they both love, which is teaching about things such as the plight of the world’s wildlife in the face of the rising tide of humanity and about the little and large things we can all do to help — including the simpler way of life that goes along with shedding enough possessions to live in 200 square feet.

The house is small, and made largely of century-old reclaimed barn wood, but it’s also top-of-the line. Inside, it’s surprisingly spacious, and feels almost luxurious; the company that made it, 84 Lumber/Tiny Living, wanted to show off their best, Arne explained.

The house’s features include low-energy LED lights, sound insulation, roofing made of recycled asphalt and cellulose fiber, and a composting toilet.

Arne, 34, and Davison, 29, had been living in the little house temporarily in the Florida Keys, but recently concluded that what they’d like to do is live on the road. Now they’re on a tour of 50 cities on their "Creative Animal" tour, raising funds for their new foundation on Indiegogo.

"We love outreach, so we thought, ‘Why not do it all the time?’ she said.

The couple is headed toward Earth Day in Washington D.C., now, but then they’ll head out west and then work their way back the rest of this year and into next year, ending up in the nation’s capital again.

They’re thinking the California redwood forest would be a good place to be married, she said.